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VIDEO: Physician discusses future of HBV treatment, path to cure

AMSTERDAM — In this exclusive video from International Liver Congress, Jordan Feld, MD, MPH, from the Toronto Center for Liver Disease at the University of Toronto, discusses the future of hepatitis B treatment and potential cure.

“I think what we need to do first is use the tools that we have,” Feld said. “I really talked a lot [in my presentation] about the fact that we have a great vaccine, we have really affective therapy right now, and our biggest challenge is that we’re not getting it to the people that need it.”

Feld reviews two presentations as part of an HBV-focused session that covered topics such as how new diagnostics may help in understanding HBV virology better to provide a path toward a clinical cure.

“Collectively, this was a useful session as we move from having huge triumphs in hepatitis C, and now we move into this new field of conquering hepatitis B, which hopefully we’re on the cusp of doing,” Feld said, “but it’s going to be a combination of using existing tools and moving toward new frontiers with great science to try to conquer the hurdles that we have to overcome.”

Disclosure: Feld reports receiving support for research and/or honoraria for scientific consulting from AbbVie, Abbott, Bristol-Myer Squibb, Gilead, Janssen, Merck, Theravance and Trek.